A fresh audit report by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has uncovered financial discrepancies in the National Assembly Secretariat’s travel voucher scheme for Members of the National Assembly (MNAs).
Between the financial years 2021-22 and 2023-24, the Secretariat issued privilege travel vouchers worth Rs1.16 billion, but officially reported only Rs1 billion as expenditure. This Rs161 million mismatch has triggered calls for a full reconciliation and explanation of the missing amount.
‘Irregular and Unauthorised’ Spending
The AGP flagged the case as an “irregular and unauthorised” lapse, pointing out that the Secretariat failed to match the actual encashments reimbursed by the State Bank with AGPR records.
In a Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) session earlier this year, NA management was directed to reconcile the discrepancies and present the complete record to audit officials.
Delayed Reconciliation, Limited Transparency
When approached, the NA Secretariat declined to comment publicly. However, an official familiar with the matter admitted that reconciliation is underway but involves multiple pending cases, mostly from Sindh and Balochistan MNAs, making the process slower.
The case highlights gaps in internal financial oversight within Pakistan’s legislature and raises new questions about the accountability of public funds allocated for lawmakers’ travel privileges.